Abstract
Efficient hybrid wheat breeding requires the redesign of the wheat floral architecure to enhance cross-pollination. Several studies evaluated the phenotypic variation and the genetic architecture of male floral traits, but their contribution to the most important trait, hybrid seed set on the female parent, has not yet been considered. To bridge this gap, we employed 31 male lines and evaluated the hybrid seed set on two female tester lines in crossing blocks. Hybrid seed set showed large genetic variance and high heritability, which demonstrates the potential for the improvement of this trait. However, the assessment of hybrid seed set is difficult as secondary traits like plant height and especially flowering time, as well as the environment largely influence the hybrid seed set. Nevertheless, a moderately high correlation between visual anther extrusion and hybrid seed set opens up the possibility to use visual anther extrusion as an indirect trait for preliminary male screenings. Further research evaluating traits influencing female receptivity coupled with genomics-assisted approaches are highly recommended to develop an improved selection portfolio for maximizing hybrid seed set.
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Acknowledgments
We thank Sabit Rrecaj and Sebastian Hajek for their outstanding work in the field at the research station of the University of Hohenheim. The authors thank KWS for providing the genotypic data and parts of phenotypes and highly appreciate the work of the breeding team at the KWS research station in Wohlde. We also thank the three anonymous reviewers of the initial version of the manuscript for their very helpful input and suggestions.
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Boeven, P.H.G., Würschum, T., Rudloff, J. et al. Hybrid seed set in wheat is a complex trait but can be improved indirectly by selection for male floral traits. Euphytica 214, 110 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10681-018-2188-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10681-018-2188-1